Manufacture of capsules.



No. 700,806. Patented May 27. E902 G. H. PAINE. MANUFACTURE OF BAPSULES.

(Application filed Oct. 5, 1901.)

(No Model.)

a NW e ow m UNITED STATES PATENT OFEicE.

GEORGE H. PAINE, OF GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO BENJAMIN T.BABBITT HYDE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MANUFACTUREVOF CAPSULES.-

SPEOIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 700,806, dated May 27,1902. Original application filed August 22. 1900. Serial No- 27,654.Divided and this application filed October 6, 1901. Serial To all? whomit may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. PAINE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Germantown, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theManufacture of Capsules, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to the manufacture of tubes, cylinders, orother structures to become sealed capsules adapted to contain liquid andvolatile substances or preparations.

The present application is a division of the application for patentfiled by me under'date of August 22, 1900, Serial No. 27 ,654, in whichthe product of the present method is claimed.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a comparativelysimple, economical, and efiicient method of producing tubes, cylinders,or other structures of gelatinous substances or materials or of paper,fabric; or

other flexible material coated with a gelatinous or other liquidsubstance or material for becoming capsules when sealed and adapted tocontain liquid or volatile preparations for various purposes.

My invention, stated in general terms,

consists of the method of making capsules, substantially as hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

, The nature and scope of my invention will be more fully understoodfrom the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which Figure 1 is a view,partly in vertical longitudinal section and partly in elevation, ofamachine adapted for carrying certain steps of the method of my presentinvention into effect. Figs. 2 and 3 are elevational views, partly inbroken section, the former of a tube of paper or similar tough materialand the latter of a tube of paper or similar tough material provided onthe inside with a gelatinous coating given to the same by arranging thetubes in the apparatus in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is anelevational view, partly in broken section, of one of the tubesinternally coated and filled and the re- (No model.)

spective ends sealed with a liquid volatile substance or preparation.Fig. 5 is a view of the said tube formed into separate capsules. Fig. 6is a front elevational view,partly in section, of an apparatus forcarrying out certain other steps of the present invention, whereby thecapsule-tube may be sealed at either end and intermediate of its endsand then separated at the intermediate sealed portions. Fig. 7 is a topor plan view of an apparatus for carrying out those steps in the methodwhich related to the hardening and fixing of the coating of the tube.Fig. Sis an elevational view, partly in broken section, of a tubecomposed entirely of a gelatinous substance adapted to be formed in theapparatus of Fig. 1; and Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of a moldadapted to be placed in connection' with the nozzles of the apparatus ofFig. l for forming the tubing entirely of agelatinous or other similarsubstance or materials to subsequently become capsules, for example, ofthe character illustrated in Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings as an exemplification of an apparatus suitablefor the conduct of the method of my invention of producing capsules, Arepresents a filling-machine comprising upper and lower jacketed tanks aand a, with a hopper a connected with the upper tank. These tanks areprovided with inlet and outlet pipes for the introduction ofsteam,'heated air, or hot water for melting the fluid contained in theinner chamber of each of said tanks or for cooling the liquid, asoccasion may require, in either of. them. These tanks are connected witheach other by piping a and (1", provided with a pump of, whereby thegelatinous fluid substance dripping into the lower tank from the larsubstance to pass through and become coated on the internal surface ofthe said tubing and of the material body of the tubing being more orless saturated with said coating, so as to render the tubing air andmoisture tight and proof.

I; is a hardening, cooling, and drying apparatus provided with acheckerwork floor 11 and with a jacket interposed between the innerperforated wall 15 and the outer casin g I).

This checker-work floor I) is provided with openings in shape orconfiguration similar to the tubing or siuiilarstructu res formed ofpaper or other material internally coated with a gelatinous substanceand detachably mounted therein, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and the saidjacketed apparatus is provided with tubing extending around the samebetween the outer casing 12' and the inner perforated wall 11 forpermitting of a free circulation of air or of a cooling agent in andabout the suspended tubes therein.

D is a device for recessing and severing the filled tubing E to form thesame into a series of single capsules properly sealed. This device isprovided with standards (I, carrying a platform or table d, with a lowerdie d and an upper die (i held normally away from" each other bya coiledspring d in a plungerhead d operated by a hand-lever d or otherinstrumentality. The upperdied isrecessed to correspond with the shapeor configuration at e given to the tubing E in Fig. 6. The plunger-headd of the said device carrying the upper die (Z provided with aspring-controlled head, carries also a knife or' chisel al heldnormallyin inoperative position by means of a coiled spring (1 yet insuch correlation to each other as that after recessing the tubing insubstantially the manner illustrated in Fig. 5 without removing thetubes from the machine in the recessed portion of the tubing insuccession each can be severed by the actuation of the knife or chisel dand formed into single capsules,with theircontained substance ormaterials in liquid and volatile form therein hermetically sealedagainst extraneous or atmospheric conditions. Between the standards andbeneath the same in a perforated chamber f are provideda series of gasor oil jets f, having a pipe f connected with a suitable source of gasor oil supply, whereby in the recessed portion of the same,through theinfluence of heat from the jets f the tubing is sealed, so that quicklyand economically a tubing of paper internally coated with gelatin orother suitable substance or materials, or even a tubing composedentirely of a gelatinousor similar substance, may be formed intoindividual capsules without loss of material contained in the capsules,the

entrance of air or gas the reinto, or escape of the volatileconstituents of the contained liquid or other matter therefrom. This isimportant, due to the fact that substances or materials placed incapsules are usually of such a nature as to be readily affected by at.cause of the hyd'roscopic nature of such substances or materials.

The tube formation shown in Fig. 8 is provided by mounting the two-partmold g in connection with the two series of nipples of the apparatus ofFig. 1 and permitting the free passage of the gelatinous substance orfiuid from the elevated tank a to pass through the molds in such manneras to cause the formation of a gelatinoustubing, which upon cooling andhardening in the apparatus of Fig. 2 may be brought into the form ofcapsules of the character illustrated in Fig. 5 by the passing of thesame after having been filled and sealed at the respective ends in anysuitable manner through the apparatus of Fig. 3 and first recessing thetubing and by the operation sealing the same in the recessed portion andthen severing the recessed portion about midway therein by the knife orchisel d of the apparatus D without inter-' fering in any manner withthe hermeticallysealed condition of the gelatinous-filled tubing E. Thistubing when it becomes hard or rigid assumes a tough condition, andhence, while readily friable or capable of being dissolved, is.impermeable to outside atmospheric conditions.

In the formation of a tubing of gelatinous substances it is preferred touse a mold ob-- long and rectangular in form, in which the two parts aredoweled or keyed to each other, and after the formation of the tubing Ein such molds the two parts of the molds g can be readily separated fromthe formed tubing E therein by the removal of the series of the saidmolds g from the nozzles a of the apparatus A of Fig. l of the drawings.

The principal advantages of making a tubing out of paper or similartough and stout material is to hold not only the internal coating ofgelatinous or other similar substance more firmly to seal the materialswhich it embraces, as well as to make the packet waterproof, but also toafford means for printing or stamping upon the exterior surface of thecapsules directions for using the internal contents of the capsules andto receive thereon advertising matter in respect to the internalcontents of the tubing when it has assumed the form of capsules or of aseries of linkedtogether capsules adapted to be separated from eachother without affecting each other or destroying the usefulness of thecapsulelike structure or the uusevered series ofsuch structures to beused as capsules. The heating of the dies during the recessing of thetubing insures a strong seal being formed between capsules formed of thecharacter illustrated in Fig. 5 and prior to their separation from eachother, as shown therein.

Having explained the manner of making capsules, the method of myinvention of carrying into effect by one preferred form of apparatus, asillustrated, may be briefly described as follows: The apparatus of Fig.1 being provided with a series of tubing in connection with the nipplesconnecting the upper tank with the lower tank through-the tubing mountedin connection with said nipples under the due regulation ofstop-cocks,the gelatinous substance or material is permitted to passslowly oi rapidly, as may be desired, through the tubing, and in passagethrough the tubing to so coat the same as to produce a film-like surfacearound and about the internal wall of the tubing and any surplus passingthrough the tubing being liberated into the lower tank, from whence itmay be lifted by the pump a and piping a, and a into the elevated tankfor use again. The tubing having been internally coated in the mannerexplained is then removed and arranged in the checker-work of thecooling and hardening apparatus of Fig. 2 to reduce the temperature ofthe same therein,and'thereby to harden the internal coating of thesuspended tubes in the apparatus D. The circulation of a cooling agentor cold air through this apparatus -D is adapted to expedite hardeningof the internal coatingof the tubes E, and when sufficiently hard to beremoved to retain their shape they are passed through the recessing orsevering apparatus of Fig. 6, so as to form the tubing into capsules ofthe character illustrated in Fig. 5, after first having been filled witha liquid or other suitable substance of a volatile or hydroscopiccharacter, and when the tubing has assumed the condition illustrated inFig. 5, hermetically sealed and severed into a series of simplecapconsists in first providing a tube of tough,

flexible material, impermeable to the atmosphere, and in then hardeningsaid tube by cooling the same.

3. The method of making capsules, which consists in forming a tube oftough, flexible material, -then coating its interior with a gelatinousmaterial applied in a liquid condition, then cooling and hardening theinterior coating of said tube and finally subjecting the tube to heatprior to sealingthe same under pressure.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature in the presence oftwo subscrib ing witnesses.

GEORGE H. PAINE.

Witnesses:

J. WALTER DOUGLASS, THOMAS M. SMITH.

